Days 16, 17 and 18

Day 16

On Saturday afternoon we decided to hire a car to do the Alpine loop on Sunday. The loop starts at Bright then goes over the range to Mt Beauty before the climb to Falls Creek. After Falls Creek the road traverses the newly sealed section of road across the Bogong High Plains to Anglers Rest, before returning to Bright via Omeo, Diner Plains and Mt Hotham.

It was wet and cold when we left Bright and got progressively colder the further we climbed the mountain. By the time we got to Falls Creek we were in thick fog and it was starting to sleet. It turned out a good decision to hire the car to do this section of the trip.

We felt sorry for the guys doing the classic car rally in their open top old cars. It would have been bitterly cold driving in 4 degrees.

After a make shift breakfast we continued on our way over the Bogong High Plains to Anglers rest. Luckily the fog cleared several times along this section of road, and we were able to see the spectacular views the road offers.

We stopped for a coffee at the Blue Duck Inn at Anglers Rest, then onto Omeo and up to Dinner Plains where we had lunch at the pub before driving onto Mt Hotham.

There was still a bit of snow laying around the mountain tops at Mt Hotham. I couldn’t encourage Marissa out of the warm car to have a bit of fun in the snow, so we continued down the mountain to Harrietville amazed at times seeing cyclists riding up the steep narrow road in the thick fog. It seemed to be asking for trouble on such a narrow road.

The pub was booked out for dinner, so we decided to try one of the local gourmet pizza restaurants in town before calling it a night.     

Day 17

We checked out of our motel room in Bright on Monday morning and didn’t have a destination in mind for the day. We needed to be in Thredbo Thursday and have accommodation booked there with friends for the Snowy Ride. It’s an easy days ride to Thredbo from Bright, and we have 4 days now to get there.

We figured we would head over the range to Mt Beauty, and from there head north along the Kiewa Valley highway towards Wodonga. We were told of a good little road that crosses the Kiewa River at Redbank and follows the eastern side of the river all the way up to Tangambalanga and the

Murray Valley Hwy.

From there it’s an easy ride to the town of Tallangatta on the Hume Weir.

I’ve been through this region many times though this was the first time I’d seen the Hume Dam full, and wasn’t aware of just how massive a body of water the dam really is. We decided to stay in Wodonga for the next two nights and booked into a cabin at one of the caravan parks.

Day 18

Today we took a lovely ride along the Victorian side of the Hume dam through to Jingelic and Walwa. We had lunch at the Walwa Pub, then rode out to show Marissa one of my favourite spots in the area, a rest area that over looks the valley heading towards Khancoban. Its simply beautiful out here, and I always enjoy stopping here to take in the views.

After showing Marissa the lookout we headed back into Walwa then rode along another back road that cuts across to the Murray Valley hwy through Guy’s Forest. There was a section of dirt along the road that we weren’t aware of but decided to press on regardless. The ST1300 handles the dirt fairly well for such a big motorcycle, but loose gravel on the corners is sphincter puckering stuff.

We got through the dirt section Ok and the views along the road make the effort worthwhile. The road eventually came out on the

Murray Valley Hwy

near the village of Shelley. From here we rode through a spectacular valley to Tallangatta, before a quick drink at the Tallangatta pub before heading back to Wodonga for the night.

Tomorrow we will head to Jindabyne for the final night before we get into Thredbo on Thursday. I’m hoping we can get to Thredbo early on Thursday morning so we can take the chairlift up the mountain, and hopefully do the walk up to Mt Kosiuosko.

After that we will have three days of catching up with friends in Thredbo and enjoying the Snowy Ride.

On Sunday morning we leave Thredbo and ride back to Canberra airport so Marissa can catch a midday flight back to Brisbane, and I’ll continue up to the central coast to stay with a friend before doing the final days ride back to Brisbane on Monday which will complete what has been an excellent 3 week touring holiday with my wonderful lady Marissa.

We’ve had a fantastic time, had lots of new experiences, enjoyed mostly wonderful weather and seen some spectacular scenery. We’ve missed our kids and are looking forward to big hugs when we get home before we then begin to bore you with the hundreds of photos we’ve taken. So be warned guys! J

Regards

Barry and Marissa